


Of Interest

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-11-01
Updated: 2005-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-19 07:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12405852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: It's not really the rain, or the food, or the place. When things are right they just are. You just need to find the proper moment to notice it. L/J ficclet.





	1. The only source

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

_This is one of my later fics, and I'm quite proud of it, so I thought I'd start at UR.org by posting it first. I have no idea how this story came to me, it's just one of those random ideas that enter your brain and don't give you a break until you jot them down._

_I was always a firm believer in a very **gradual** development in Lily and James' relationship. This is meant to be something that happened in their sixth year...but I think it also works for their seventh. _

_So here you go. Enjoy, and if you like (or don't) please review._

 

**The Only Source**

The rain was heavier than it had ever been in that month of April. Lily could see the droplets of water drawing patterns on the already flooded floor outside. She sighed heavily. It was bad enough having to be alone at Hogwarts for the holidays, the rain made the atmosphere all the more depressing.

She reached across the table for her book and started flipping through it distractedly. The dank and dark ambience made it difficult for her to feel motivated to actually read, or even do anything at all. She’d spent most of her morning staring out the window at the blurred images of the Hogwarts grounds, wrapped in a thin blanket, feeling drowsy and indolent.

As she gazed vaguely into space, Lily was brought out of her reverie by the sound of someone stomping down the stairs.

James Potter emerged at the landing, looking dishevelled and uncommonly grumpy. He hadn’t appeared to have noticed Lily sitting on the windowsill, because he simply slumped onto an armchair by the fire without looking at her.

“Potter?”� Lily sat up awkwardly to make sure it was really him. Since when did James Potter stay at Hogwarts during the holidays?

James jumped up in shock and turned widely around. His eyes widened when he saw who it was, and he offered Lily a small smile, which she returned.

“Heya, Lily!”� He walked over to her. “I didn’t know you were staying for Easter.”�

She sighed. “Anywhere but home is good right now.”� And then she looked curiously at him. “I’d never heard of _you_ staying here for Easter.”�

He shrugged, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “There- Ah- was a short-notice change of plans.”� Lily frowned slightly, but decided it was not her place to push the matter.

“Is Black also here?”�

James rolled his eyes. “Yeah,”� he sat on the windowsill opposite to her, “don’t even get me started on him… bloody killjoy.”�

It was Lily’s turn to widen her eyes. James Potter at school for Easter, James angry at Sirius, what on earth was going on?

James seemed to have noticed her bewilderment, because he added hastily. “Oh, we’re not really fighting or anything, it’s just a question of him giving me some space, know?”�

Lily didn’t. Nor did she understand what James meant by that. He opened his mouth in a second attempt to expand on his own words, but at that moment, Sirius came down the stairs. He was obviously sick, his thin nose was slightly sore, and he looked pale.

“Hey Evans.”� He said, ignoring James and nodding at Lily. “I didn’t know you were here.”�

James rolled his eyes. “Padfoot, go to bed!”� He said irritably.

“No I won’t.”� Sirius said stubbornly. “Because I’m not sick!”�

“Oh I think you are,”� James retorted, his voice sounding petulant, “because the thing you, er- ‘dropped’ at the foot of my bed this morning used to be in your nose.”�

Sirius sniffed. “You are making it up.”� He looked at Lily. “He’s making it up.”�

Lily shrugged. “You look sick to me, would it be so terrible to just go upstairs and rest?”�

Sirius snapped his hands together in an irritable manner. “Oh, so now you’re a healer, are you Evans? That multi-talent thing is really getting to your head. Not sure it’s working well.”�

Lily snorted. “I’m not healer; I just possess a minimal amount of insight.”�

Sirius opened his mouth, closed it, looking petulantly from James to Lily, before wheeling around and storming back upstairs. Lily winced at the sharp sound of him slamming the dormitory door shut.

“What a cranky individual.”� She muttered loosely to James. “Difficult to live with, huh?”�

James chuckled and shook his head. “You come up with that just from this scene, you should try sharing a bathroom with him. I’m telling you, I should be canonized.”�

“That’s a little unreasonable, isn’t it? I mean, he is sick…”�

“I know that!”� James said dismissively. “What I witnessed this morning couldn’t possible have come from a healthy person.”�

Lily giggled. He stared wonderingly at her and waved his hands, staring upwards. “I spend half my life trying to get this girl to just crack a smile in my direction. When she finally laughs, it’s at my misery.”� He gazed mockingly at her. “I don’t deserve this.”�

“Oh don’t try and fool me, Potter. You are hardly innocent. Besides,”� she bit her lip, “I’m bored. You are my first source of distraction since this morning. So, miraculous as this will sound- and try not to let my intense inclination for a source of interest become a major factor here- I am actually glad you are here.”�

James shook his head, and then beamed at her. “Well I’m glad to be your current _source of interest_.”� And then he shifted slightly. “And I am thankful that the giant squid hasn’t dropped by yet.”�

“Well,”� she said gleefully, “you can not deny that it would be interesting to see the giant squid trying to make his way to the Gryffindor common room…”� She trailed off and sighed. “I was hoping to go outside today, you know? Get some fresh air, walk around the grounds. I hate being stuck here.”�

James raised his eyebrows. “Er- I’m sorry, are you in detention or is something else keeping you inside?”�

She frowned at him. “Er- _no,_ I’m not in detention. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s like a bloody tempest outside.”�

He looked slightly heartened. “What’s the matter, Evans? Scared of a little rain?”�

“It’s not just a little rain, it’s-”� But she faltered and glared at him. Six years sharing a common room with James Potter were enough to give rise to her sneaking suspicion that he was up to something. During the past few months, James had proven that he could be a very sensitive individual- the sensitive James she could deal with, but the sparkle in his eye right now showed the remnants of the old mischievous James Potter, one she was never very good at handling. She pondered on her answer for a moment, and then settled for caution- she’d rather avoid yet another argument with Potter… besides, she was curious to know where the conversation was heading. “What are you getting to, James?”�

He laughed.

“What?”�

He shook his head. “You were just debating whether you should hex me or find out what I want. You are very inquisitive, aren’t you, Lily? The prospect of finding something to do is so tempting, that you even used my first name… could I have that last phrase in writing?”�

She leaned back and studied his face. “You’re winding me up.”�

James seemed to have settled with the notion that her defences were down. “That’s not really my style; I generally just cut to the chase.”�

“Not with me, you don’t.”�

“Oh don’t I?”� He said coolly. And Lily thought she identified a slight bit of resentment in his voice. “Could ‘Evans, will you go out with me?’ Twenty-three times in two years have been anymore direct?”�

“You counted!”� Lily blushed slightly, and looked away. Okay, so he was the kind of person who got straight to the point… “Fair enough, Potter. What exactly are your plans for going outside in this weather?”�

He sat up, grinning devilishly. “Well, I think putting on a jacket and walking downstairs would be a good start…”�

Lily stared. “A-a jacket? That’s it? Potter the ground outside is flooded with water. It’ll probably be up to our ankles!”�

James’ grin widened. “I know. If we’re lucky, it might even reach our knees in the next hour.”�

She was now genuinely becoming concerned about his sanity. “You can’t seriously be considering going outside in this weather? We probably won’t even be able to walk far before we get washed away.”�

“We aren’t going to get washed away.”� James said calmly. “We are just going to get a little wet… we can stamp on the puddles, you know? It’s called fun.”�

She stood up and crossed her arms. “I know what fun is. It doesn’t require getting wet.”�

He bit his lip, then looked down and picked up the book she’d been flipping through before he’d arrived. “‘An Enlightenment on the Art of Charm Creation.’”� He read out loud. And then he stood up and handed it to her. “Sounds exhilarating, Evans. Tell you what? I’ll go do my thing, and you stay here and try and finish all five hundred and seventy two pages by the time I get back. Then tonight, we’ll sit down and see which of us had the most fun, alright? But you’ll please let me tell you how my day went first, so that I can nap during your account.”�

Lily felt slightly dazed. “You think I’m boring.”� She said softly.

He looked positively stumped. “What? No-no, no, no. That’s not what I meant-”�

“Yes it was.”� She said, nodding. “You think I’m a dull goody two-shoes, don’t you? Well I’ll prove to you how… what was the word you used? _Exhilarating_ I can be. Let’s go walk in the storm. I’ll meet you at the Entrance Hall in five minutes.”�

James watched her walk up the staircase and out of sight, and then, grinning widely, made his way to the portrait hall.

 

 

“What’s the point of this!”� Lily said, unable to hide the impatience in her voice. She wrapped her jacket tightly around herself and stared apprehensively at the unwelcoming view that was the Hogwarts grounds. 

James looked thoroughly amused. “I think getting wet is the main and only objective.”�

She looked disapprovingly at him, and then sat at the door of the castle, apparently plucking up to courage to actually walk into the pouring rain. “You do know we have warm showers in our dormitories for that purpose, don’t you?”�

James walked over and sat down beside her. “You really don’t want to walk in the rain, do you?”� He muttered.

“I’m kind of torn.”� Lily admitted.

When James spoke next, his voice sounded slightly guilty. “You don’t have to Lily. I —er- I don’t think you are boring, I was just winding you up-”�

“I know that!”� Lily interrupted. “Its just…”� she waved her hand as though trying to find words to express herself. “I _was_ flipping through ‘An Enlightenment on the Art of Charm Creation’ before you came in. Every kid has stepped on rain puddles at least once in their lives… some twits like you- no offence-”�

“- None taken-”�

“-still do that. And I never have… somehow your offer was tempting. I never thought an invitation to get pneumonia could appeal to me, but it did.”�

James chuckled. “You aren’t going to get pneumonia, Lil. Merlin, you are so prudent.”�

She gave him a resentful look. “Well, I saw the state your best friend was in this morning.”�

“Oh, yeah, but that was because I threw him in the lake. I’m not going to throw _you_ in the lake.”�

“You certainly will not. Actually,”� Lily grinned, “that wouldn’t be so terrible. It’s not even that cold.”�

He looked absolutely nonplussed. “So, you wouldn’t hex my eyes out if I just suddenly slipped my arm around your waist and tossed you into the lake?”�

“If you think you are going to use this as a way of tricking me into allowing you to slip your hand around my waist, Potter, you have another thing coming.”�

“That wasn’t really what I had in mind,”� said James honestly, “thanks for the tip, though. Anyways, I figure we could do something else, then.”�

“Yeah, like what?”� Lily asked, looking around the grounds, her eyes came to rest on a puddle by her shoe, and she glanced furtively at James, struck by sudden inspiration.

“Oh, I can come up with whatever you want to do. My friends and I never stay indoors during our free time… unless Remus makes us study.”� James smiled, glancing sideways at her, and was startled to see her standing.

“Actually, James, I changed my mind.”� She said earnestly, fidgeting slightly with her feet.

It was James’ turn to glare suspiciously. “What do you mean, you’ve changed your mind? And why did you just use my first name?”�

“Well, I suppose I was sort of, kind of, hoping,”� Lily grinned slightly, “that if I used your first name, you wouldn’t be too mad at me, when I did this-”�

“Did wh-?”� James began, but was interrupted as Lily kicked hard at the puddle of water, splashing the side of his trousers. She giggled as he stared, dumbstruck at his drenched pants and shoes, before he looked up at her. “Oh, you are so dead, Evans.”�

And she just had time to glimpse his broad grin before shrieking and running out into the storm and out of his reach.


	2. The Only Solution

_Part Two got finished way too fast, but I'm posting it now anyway. It's a little different in tone and pace from the first one, but it suits the plot nicely enough.  
Please review and give me your thoughts!_

_x x_  
Brolly  


**  
Part 2: The Only Solution **

“What a disappointment.”� Lily muttered vaguely, as she twisted her hair and allowed the cold droplets of water from its tip to fall down the back of her already sopping wet shirt. 

 

James squinted at her, he was attempting to dry his glasses on _his_ shirt, Lily had the distinct impression that he was trying to make out her expression, and see whether or not she had been serious in her remark. Her grin widened. 

 

“You’re blind. Ever thought of getting contacts?”�

 

“What are contacts? And what do you mean by ‘disappointment’?”� James lifted his glasses to his eyes, made a face, and then went back to trying to dry them on his shirt. 

 

“Oh, give them here,”� said Lily impatiently, taking his glasses from him and tapping them once with her wand- they went clear at once, and she handed them back to James, who took them with and oddly flustered expression on his face. 

 

“Thanks,”� he murmured, putting them on and continuing to stare at her.

 

“Contacts are these little plastic-like things that Muggles put in theirs eyes. They’ll fix your eyesight, and you won’t have to wear glasses. It’s much more practical than having to wipe your glasses all the time…”�

 

James looked dumbfounded. “I’m not shoving anything into my eye!”� He said, sounding horrified by the very idea. “Glasses are good enough for me, thanks.”�

 

Lily sniggered. “They won’t hurt your eyes, Potter. Well, not usually anyways. My maths teacher once lost his inside his eye and had to go to the doctor to have it removed.”�  She leaned casually on the wall and smiled as James’ eyes grew wider. “So, is your boggart a giant hurt eyeball?”�

 

“You are disappointed in me after tonight, then?”� He asked rather loudly, frowning at her inclination to make fun of him.

 

“Well yes.”� She stood up straight and started walking back into the hall, making her way toward the main stairway. “I mean, you were a little too prudent for my taste. Hadn’t you promised to make me pay? You didn’t even try to throw me in the lake.”�

 

James actually laughed. “Ah, you see, I would’ve. But I figured that after you proved to me that you are capable of mischief, I thought that if I’d tried to throw you in the lake, you would have brought me down with you.”� His grin widened. 

 

She smiled back at him. “Good thinking.”� Lily wiped her wet hair out of her face, and started making her way up the stairs. 

 

“Where are you going?”� James asked, jogging to keep up with her quickened pace. 

 

She halted and glared sceptically at him. “Back to the common room, of course!”� 

 

“Don’t be silly. If Filch catches us walking around the castle like this, we’ll be forced to dissect frogs for a week.”�

 

“Well what do you suppose we do?”� Lily regretted saying this almost immediately after the words had escaped her lips. The mischievous glint was back in his eyes, and this time she did not appreciate it. Her legs were tired from sprinting around the school grounds, she was sopping wet and starting to shiver, and despite not wanting to expect the worse, she couldn’t help but feel that James Potter had once again landed her in a situation where she’d be forced to act according to his resolve. “Potter, I am going back to the common room, and that’s that.”� 

 

She turned and made as if to continue climbing up the steps, but halted as James let out a dramatic sigh and muttered “You’re funeral.”� Under his breathe, but just loud enough so she could hear him. 

 

For a moment she considered yelling at him, but somehow thought better of it. Instead, she slumped onto the step and looked pleadingly up at him. “Oh come on, James! I’m tired and I’m wet, I know that you can find a way back up to the common room without us getting caught, so why don’t you?”�

 

Lily was amused to see that this had had precisely the effect she had wanted. James looked stumped (and disappointed?) by her reaction… It seemed as though she had finally learnt how to deal with him.  

 

“I have better plans.”� He grinned slightly at her. Lily felt torn between suspicion and curiosity. There was a strange honesty to his voice that made her abandon all pretences of him trying to irk her into submission.

 

“I’m a little tired for another race in the Hogwarts grounds…I know you have all the energy in the world, but-”�

 

He snorted. “As if I’d fancy a jog after that.”� He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the doorway. “What would be really great now is a nice round of _butterbeer_ , and a cosy parlour at a pub.”�

 

She glared at him, feeling her annoyance growing again. Then she sighed. “Yes, I’d love that too- but since the common room is all we’ve got-”�

 

“Well, if you want that too, then what are we waiting for?”� He got up and grabbing her by the arm, dragged her with him.  

 

She snatched her arm away, but couldn’t help but follow him up the marble steps, and down a passageway she was sure she’d never been in. “Where are you

going?”�

 

“Three Broomsticks.”� He answered at once, stopping only long enough to grin at her, before he sprinted up the corridor and climbed up a narrow stairway on the left, Lily at his heels, struggling to keep up. 

 

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

 

“We need to re-open our discussion about me not having as much energy as you.”� Lily panted, shivering as James came to a halt in front of the statue of a one eyed witch Lily had never noticed before, and waited for her to catch up. 

 

“Are you cold, Evans?”� He asked, looking concerned for the first time that evening. James beckoned her to the statue of the one eyed witch. “Do you need a towel?”�

 

“Yes. But I’ll just have to do without one, won’t I?”� She snapped. “Why did you suddenly decide to stop, and allow me to catch my breath?”�

 

His expression showed mingled guilt and confusion. “We’re here.”� He said slowly, tapping the one eyed witch with a slightly blue finger. 

 

Lily was a shiver away from strangling him on the spot.  She reached into the pocket of her drenched robes for her wand. “This had better not be a sick joke.”� 

 

James grinned. “I guess it’s just as well that it isn’t, then.”�

 

“Potter-”� But James had already turned his back on her, and was pulling out his own wand. He tapped the statue with it and muttered “Dissendium.”� The witch moved aside to reveal a hole small enough to fit one person. 

 

James moved aside. “Ladies first.”�

 

Feeling just as curious as she was relieved, Lily slipped past him, and slid cautiously into the passageway.  James looked absolutely astounded at her submissiveness. 

 

“That’s it?”� He asked bemusedly, following her into a narrow tunnel and staring at her through the darkness. 

 

“No.”� Lily said slowly, staring around the tunnel and twisting her soaping hair once more. “I’m curious to know what you are getting at, Potter. However, if you intend to take me someplace stupid, and if I get a cold, I can always get back at you with a good watermelon head jinx.”�

 

“My, my Lily. I never knew you were this _curious_. First you go run in the rain, and now you risk getting detention. Why do I get the feeling that there is more to your attitude tonight then just plain interest? Maybe you are even starting to trust me- imagine the controversy this is going to cause.”�

 

Lily said nothing, she was much too taken with James’ words to come up with a suitable retort. The truth was that, as of late, she was starting to like him quite a lot. Not that she had ever really _disliked_ him. But there was something about him now that had just led her to play along with him… somehow she believed he wasn’t doing it to trick her. Not much contemplation had gone into this- but now that Lily thought it through, it had been a very daring gamble. 

 

 They stood in silence for a moment; Lily couldn’t make out his expression through the darkness. Just as she was beginning to suspect a hoax, he snorted and started looking for something on the floor of the tunnel. 

 

“What _are_ you doing now?”� She shivered and wrapped her jacket tightly around her- the only thing that had saved itself from getting completely drenched. 

 

“Looking for this!”� James got up and tossed a bundle of robes at her. “I knew I’d left it here last time.”� 

 

Lily caught the bundle, and stared at it before glaring up at James. “What in the name of Merlin are you giving me this for?”�

 

He grinned. “Open it, why don’t you?”�

 

Lily did, feeling her hands make contact with something warm and smooth, which slid past her cold fingers with immense ease. She gasped as she looked down at what she was now holding. “Is this- Oh my God James, is this an invisibility cloak?”�

 

“Yep. That’s how we are going to get back into the castle.”�

 

 James turned on his heel, and began walking down the passageway. Frowning at his odd behaviour, she jogged after him.

 

“Will you _slow down_?”� She snapped. And even in the darkness, Lily could clearly make out the broad grin on James’ face as he halted, and waited for her to draw level with him.  

 

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

 

Lily never felt such a strong urge to smack James around the head, as she did today. She was unsure as to what had led her to walk silently next to him in an empty (and _cold_ , as she never seemed to tire of remembering) tunnel which, it suddenly occurred to her, probably led to something terribly illegal. As it were, she’d chosen to trust him- and whether that had been an intelligent decision or not, remained to be seen.

 

“We’re here.”� He said finally; when they’d reached the top of a few steps that seemingly lead to a dead end. 

 

Lily stopped dead and glared at him. “You’re _joking_.”�

 

James didn’t answer, he didn’t even look back. He was busy unfolding the invisibility cloak and had thrown it over them both. 

“Just follow my lead; it’s a short walk to the pub now.”� He muttered quietly.

 

“What-?”� She began, but he shushed her, and with some effort, pulled the wall on the ceiling of the tunnel open, to reveal a trapdoor. 

 

Lily stared around. They were in some kind of storage room, she moved forward, but he grabbed her by the shoulders, listening. When it was clear that no one was coming, he helped her steadily up the stairs and out of the door that lead to- Honeydukes. 

 

She gasped at the site of a few people walking around the sweet shop, it wasn’t nearly as full as she knew it, but then, she reminded herself wearily, today wasn’t Hogsmeade weekend. 

 

James was smirking again as he led her out of the store. He looked around quickly, and then pulled the cloak off them both. “There you are, Lils. Am I not a man of my word?”�

 

“Yes.”� Lily said, still feeling rather dazed. “My God, James…How did you ever- You could get in serious trouble for this.”�

 

He chuckled lightly and put a hand on her shoulder, beckoning her to walk. “Are you going to tell on me, Evans?”� he asked lightly.

 

“Of course not!”� Lily snapped. “I’m the idiot who followed you, aren’t I?”� She hadn’t even noticed they had arrived at the Three Broomsticks. James was in full control, he could probably have taken her anywhere. She was certain from the look on his face that he knew that too. But he hadn’t, and somehow that seemed to matter more than it should. 

 

“Hello Madam Rosmerta!”� James said cheerfully, as the pretty landlady came forward to greet them with a broad smile on her face. “How are you?”�

 

“Well hello James!”� She said pleasantly, “no Sirius today then? It’s been a while since I’ve seen the two of you. I thought you’d forgotten me.”�

 

“Never as long as I live.”� He replied cheerfully, and Lily scowled. “This is Lily.”� James said, sounding amused, and Lily realised that he had been watching her.  “We’d like a private parlour with a warm fire, some of those appetisers I like, butterbeer and a bottle of your finest mead, please.”� 

 

“Of course.”� Madam Rosmerta nodded brightly at Lily, and then led them up the stairs and into a small but cosy room at the back of the pub. She lit the fire and left, grinning broadly at James as she closed the door. 

 

Lily glared and he raised an eyebrow. “What?”�

 

“Pretty intimate with the good-looking landlady, aren’t we?”� She asked, not sounding as amused as she would have hoped. 

 

He threw her a cheeky grin. “Jealous?”� 

 

Perhaps it would have been better if she had just replied, but Lily merely shrugged, and then turned to the fire, once again giving him her back. He followed suite and they sat in silence for a while, contemplating the flames and carefully avoiding each others eyes. 

 

James opened his mouth, hesitated and then spoke. “Why the sudden change?”�

 

She frowned, still staring into the fire. “What do you mean?”�

 

“Why is it that in the past few months you’ve suddenly decided to gamble and act like we are good friends?”�

 

Taken by surprise, Lily whirled around and glowered at him. “I’ve decided to _gamble_ and _act_ like we’re friends?”� 

 

With absolutely no indication of having noticed her resentment at his words, James merely nodded, now looking almost defiantly back at her. “You always kept your distance and made sure we were not too close. All of a sudden you laugh at my jokes, talk to me when I try and stir some conversation and… agree to walk in the rain.”�

 

“I never made sure we weren’t close,”� Lily said defensively, “it just didn’t happen.”�  

 

“Not true.”� And there was definitely bitterness in his voice now. 

 

Her breathing was growing heavy, and she could feel herself blushing. “Potter, I-”�

 

“- It’s _James_ , my name is James.”� 

 

Lily slammed her fist on the floor, and promptly wished she hadn’t, it immediately started pulsing violently. “You call me Evans too, you know?”�

 

“I haven’t done that in a long time.”�

 

“Well, you were still the one who started calling me by my surname in fourth year!”�

 

She cursed herself immediately for saying it. Now it would all start over again. The endless arguments about how he had asked her out in fourth year and she had said yes before going back on her decision. It was always the prelude to their heated discussions, many of which lead to days of them not speaking to each other. 

 

But to her relief, he merely shook his head. “We’re not doing this again. I’m tired, and my feet are too cold.”� He didn’t seem to find it at all amusing. “But you know what I think Lily? I think that you and I can’t be friends.”�

 

Lily’s eyes widened. “We can’t be friends? Why not? Because you don’t want us to?”�

 

“That’s right.”� James said, sounding very angry now. “Because I _know_ that we are never going to work as friends. You and I aren’t made to be friends, Lily Evans. You and I have as much chance of running a successful friendship as Snivellus and Sirius have of sharing a towel.”�

 

Lily would have laughed at the image he provoked in her mind with his ridiculous analogy, but she was too busy contemplating on what he had just said. 

 

“So basically, we can’t be friends because you are too selfish to not let your feelings get in the way?”�

 

“What about your feelings then, Evans?”� He asked harshly. 

 

She withdrew slightly, and stared straight back at him. He seemed to have calmed down slightly, and was now looking at her with genuine interest. “What about my feelings?”� 

 

James was practically sneering now. “Do you honestly think this _friendship_ is going to work?”� 

 

“It has to be better than all the fighting, hasn’t it?”�

 

He shook his head, visibly trying to calm himself down. “We fight because we care, not because we need to be friends- if that even made any sense to begin with.”�

 

“Oh right, so what you are saying is that there’s no solution? That I’m just a self-absolved idiot to think that we could be friends?”�

 

James actually laughed. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”� And noticing the hurt look on her angry face, he added. “I’m frustrated Lily, I honestly don’t know about you, but I don’t handle things like this very well.”�

 

She gave an indignant gasp. “Well, I can see how great at handling it you are right now-”�

 

Lily halted as Madam Rosmerta entered the parlour with their food and drinks. Lily took a butterbeer and James did the same, watching her with his hazel eyes as he sipped from his mug. He had looked angry just a moment before, but now Lily recognised the look that was almost always there when he spoke to her- it was much more soothing than the fire and the steaming butterbeer. 

 

He sighed, setting his mug down. “Sorry.”�

 

She looked up. “It’s ok.”� She somehow felt like there was more to say than that, so she opened her mouth again. “Er- To answer your question…”� Lily paused, waiting, perhaps hoping he would stop her, but he didn’t. She swallowed and decided to bravely plough on. “I don’t know why I’ve suddenly decided to try and get on with you. I–don’t even know why I made such an effort not to know you before. I guess…I got tired of fighting, and…and you were always trying. Maybe I just felt like I should to.”�

 

Lily waited from him to speak. But he still remained silent, his eyes on the floor. Did he look disappointed? “Besides,”� she added, “it kind of feels right, doesn’t it?”�

 

James was looking at her again, now slightly amused. Lily marvelled at his ability to rapidly switch his emotions. “Don’t lead me on, Lily.”� He muttered. 

 

“What?”� She said, aghast. “I’m not trying to…James, I wasn’t…”�

 

He laughed. “Calm down, Evans. I was only joking.”� He stood up and looked out the window, munching on one of the cheesy snacks Madam Rosmerta had brought them. Lily, picking up a snack, followed him.

 

“Hey look,”� she said, pointing at the road where three young boys were having a fervent fake water balloon fight, “I bet they’d be willing to let us join in!”�

 

James turned around to look at her, the warmth in his eyes once again taking her breath away. “I don’t know about you Lily, but I’m coooold.”� He grinned and, a little tentatively, edged closer to her. She did the same, so that they were shoulder to shoulder. 

“I’m not.”� 

 

Lily wasn’t quite sure what made her do it. Maybe it was the all too familiar and all too relaxing situation created by the ambience they were in. Maybe it was the fact that she felt warm, peaceful and rather pleased with the turn out of her day. Or maybe it was just James, with his laughter and his warm eyes. Either way, her hand touched his for a fraction of a second and she took it, intertwining their fingers.

 

He jumped in surprise at her touch and turned, looking first and their locked hands, and then at her face. And they mutually agreed, even if for that moment, that this was the only solution to their infamous problem. The grin had disappeared from his expression, but he tightened his grip on her hand, staring, his eyes twinkling, into the pretty site that was Hogsmeade Village, even in the rain.


End file.
